Driving to nyc from pa

Thinking about booking ncl jewel in Nov. since our trip out of baltimore on Carnival Pride was cancelled and driving to port from SW Pa. looking for somone to help with best route, we will be coming across pa on I 78 into NJ. I drove to bayonne 2 years ago for rccl explorer of the seas and it wasn't that bad but I have a feeling driving into Manhattan will be a little more difficult getting in and out. Was thinking about finding a hotel around Newark and doing car service as there will be 6 in our party plus luggage.

Is the port easy to get to, what about traffic, construction, detours, etc....

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

while the parking at the Manhattan cruise terminal is more expensive, it shouldn't take more than 1/2 hour more than it took to Bayonne on a weekend. personally I would take the Holland tunnel and then the first exit off the tunnel all the way to the west side highway 9a north right to the cruise terminal at 54-5th street and 12th avenue(also 9a)...its about 10 miles from Bayonne to the Manhattan cruise terminal...

see http://www.nycruise.com Manhattan terminal

Unfortunately with 6 people (1 car???) I think you'll find that paying to stay in any hotel and paying for a car service for 6 into Manhattan will be much more than paying to park at the pier.

You need to give us more details about the exact date you are looking at - there is a marathon in NY in Nov. While I like the Holland Tunnel and driving up West St/12th Ave, that route is not for everyone. The Lincoln Tunnel works as well. Sometimes the best approach is to wait to make the decision and listen to the traffic reports on 880 or 1010 - they will tell you the wait times for both tunnels and will let you know if either crossing has unusual problems. It's New York - there's traffic - just bring your patience and you will get there.

one hint that saves time is beg borrow or steal an ezpass.

http://www.ezpassny.com

At the tunnel and even on the turnpike this saves eons of time.

looking at going the week of Nov 7 to Nov 14

Nov 7 is the NY Marathon. It's also the day after the clock change - one hour backward. That means you can leave really early - 6 am will be 7 am. Also the Marathon starts on Staten Island and goes through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and ends in Central Park and will not go near the Manhattan cruiseport. You should be fine.

mapquest and google both take the lincoln tunnel which is easier

mapquest and google both take the lincoln tunnel which is easier

and longer....the fact they both take you that way doesn't make it the best way....

depends on traffic.

Nov 7 is the NY Marathon. It's also the day after the clock change - one hour backward. That means you can leave really early - 6 am will be 7 am. Also the Marathon starts on Staten Island and goes through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and ends in Central Park and will not go near the Manhattan cruiseport. You should be fine.

:eek: The Verrazano Bridges closes down at 7 a.m. the day of the marathon. If drivers want to get to Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens) they are going to have to go up through Jersey and then across the Hudson at either the tunnels into Manhattan or across the GW Bridge. This is going to make the traffic heavier than usual.

mapquest and google both take the lincoln tunnel which is easier

From SW PA, no way would I recommend coming in on I-78. You have to take the Pennsy pike to get on 78. Crappy, Crappy, highway with very few places to stop. And once you get to Allentown, it can be bumper to bumper traffic through NJ-that is a road where one LITTLE fender bender turns into HOURS of delay.

You may want to get up on I-80 as soon as you can (I-79 or I-99). NO tolls, convenience store or truck stop almost every exit with decent food and decent priced gas (NOT like the turnpike which is WELL overpriced). EASY access to hotels or the port. Either across the GWB or through the Lincoln tunnel. On Nov 7th, I personally think coming in on the GW and going down the HH would be your least traffic way. The GW/HH won't be tied up for the Marathon, but the tunnels sure could be.

So let's get more specific - exactly where are you coming from in PA? (I saw SW and thought southeast for some reason). Are you really 6 people in 1 car? Are you coming in the night before so you need a hotel room? For the last folks in a similar situation I think we recommended bidding on Priceline or Hotwire for Parsippany NJ. This would allow you to access the GW Bridge and the Henry Hudson parkway, which is the easiest way to get to the Manhattan cruise terminal from NJ.

Coming from the Uniontown area about 50 miles south of Ptttsburgh. When I drove to Bayonne I went the Pa turnpike to Harrisburg. I 81N to I78 west all the way to Bayonne.

Haven't decided if were going to come in the day before or not I think it might be easier since its about a 6 hour drive if theres no traffic, and possibly staying about an hour out for the night so we are not to tired when we reach the port.

Well, greatam gives good advice and consistently recommends I80 over any other route. Going to Bayonne is different from going to Manhattan. Coming in I80 and taking the HH parkway cuts out as much NY traffic as you can possibly get rid of.

You didn't answer the questions about 1 car and whether you are going to try to do this 7+ hour trip the same day as the cruise or whether you need a hotel room. I'm seeing a 2 1/2* hotel on Hotwire for $45 (unknown hotel but a 2 1/2* would probably be OK in Parsippany) and a 3* for $56 that is probably Summerfield Suites. http://www.parsippanyusahotels.com/

Blazers 29,

We're from SW Pa, too (a few miles up Route 119 from you, in Greensburg) and will be making a similar trip to a cruise out of Manhattan in a couple of weeks (Veendam to Bermuda; can't wait). Here are my plans, and some things I have found out.

1. Regarding the route: From where we live, it's almost equal driving time going Turnpike-78 or Route 22-I80. The northern option would be nicer driving and more scenic, but we may need to drop off a car in Harrisburg, so we'll probably go the southern route (with all its faults).

2. We will stay the night before at one of the hotels at the Newark Airport. We've done this before. If you work the web sites, you can get some really good deals at these hotels. Most will also charge $15 for parking.

3. We'll then drive into Manhattan the next morning, probably through the Lincoln Tunnels, to the terminal. This whole trip will take a half hour on a Sunday morning. (I don't know what I'd do if I needed to get to the terminal on a weekday.)

4. I guess you know by now that parking at the terminal is $30/day. We've done that for past cruises (when it was only $20/day), but I found a cheaper alternative that I'll use this time. Icon Parking has a lot of parking garages in NYC. If you go to their web site, you should find a coupon for $16 per day at their valet lot at the Skyline Hotel, at 10th and 49th. (It's more if you have an oversize SUV; my Chevy Equinox is NOT considered oversize.) Four of us are traveling. We'll drop off wife, adult daughter and baggage (I was going to make a joke about getting rid of "the bags and the baggage") at the terminal. Then my 18-year-old son and I will go to the garage, drop off the car, and walk back to the ship. The garage is two long blocks from the terminal, so we'll probably hoof it back to the ship. From what I've read on these boards, and from mapquest streetview, this looks pretty safe to me.

After the cruise, if I have any more info that might be helpful, I'll post it here.

Enjoy your cruise.

Blazers29 (and any others who plan to use I-78):

This is pretty much the most direct route to the part of New Jersey you'd want to hit to get to either Bayonne or Manhattan.

A word of warning: I-78 has had a well-deserved reputation for delays, whether accidents, weather conditions, or road constuction. When we drove to NYC in November 2005, we left 3 hours wiggle room in our timetable to get from Harrisburg to NYC. We got to the boarding area 20 minutes before sailing. This was due to the seemingly never-ending construction that was taking place on the road.

In fact,

I-78September 2009 --> November 2010Interstate 78 Northampton and Lehigh Counties, PA 309 to Easton, EB, WB, pavement rehabilitation, bridge dam repair, median guide rail in Lehigh County, nighttime paving, lane restrictions for bridge work, delays

Thanks for the info TomTraveler which hotel at newark will you be staying

Thanks capncarp for the construction info....

No offense, but if you are coming in I80 to cruise out of the Manhattan Cruise terminal, it makes no sense to stay at Newark Airport. You should be looking at 3* hotels on Priceline or Hotwire in either Parsipanny or Secaucus. These are a much nicer set of hotels in a more suburban setting with nearby restaurants and much better access to NY via the GW Bridge or the Lincoln Tunnel. These hotels do not charge for parking. They are not on a truck route like US1/9.

I understand that, but at this point i haven't decided which way I'm going.

Blazers29,

I have a reservation at the Newark Airport Ramada, which seems to share a building with the Newark Airport Ramada Plaza. Be advised that I'm not recommending it, at least at this stage -- I just got a very cheap rate during an Expedia sale in the spring.

If you read the reviews of this hotel on Expedia or wherever, you'll find that some folks think it's OK, but some hate it. If I see a really good rate next week on another hotel, I might switch.

Either way, I'll let you know how it went after the cruise.

If you're undecided about your route, Parsipanny is out. The 3* hotel on Hotwire for $77 for 11/6 in Secaucus is most likely the Sheraton. This hotel is a regular on Hotwire and folks have been very satisfied with it. The Newark Courtyard at the airport is available at $89. There are several less expensive hotels showing on Kayak at Newark airport, but they are hotels that we generally do not recommend. I have stayed in the Newark Courtyard and the Ramada when it was a Holiday Inn. They are OK hotels but nothing special. I paid $56/night at the Holiday Inn last year and it was OK, but they do charge $15 to park. I have also stayed at the Sheraton Newark Airport. IMO of the 3 hotels, the Sheraton is the nicest.

Thanks For all the info....

Don't know if this was already mentioned but you could drive to Weehoken and take the ferry over to Manhattan. That's what we are doing so we don't have to worry about driving into Manhattan. The ferry will drop you off .8 miles from the dock center.

Don't know if this was already mentioned but you could drive to Weehoken and take the ferry over to Manhattan. That's what we are doing so we don't have to worry about driving into Manhattan. The ferry will drop you off .8 miles from the dock center.

PLEASE check the parking situation at Weehawken BEFORE you plan on parking there. The parking lot is really for commuters, not long term parking for cruisers. Last year at certain times, long term parking was only allowed for those who had a monthly ferry pass. Then they changed the rules to allow anyone to park there for however long. But it was clearly posted both in the parking lot and online that if daily commuters were having a hard time finding parking spaces, they would again shut off long term parking to the general public and only allow it for those with monthly ferry passes. I haven't seen the warnings so far this summer. Please check before you park and most likely, NOT with a young kid working as a lot attendant. CALL NY Waterway to be sure. You would hate to come back from a lovely cruise and have your car towed away.